Why are so many lesbians invisible within the LGBT community?
Many of you know that I love, love, love Twitter! One of the many great things about Twitter is the conversation and dialogue that you can have with pretty much anyone around the world. It’s pretty amazing to think about. I post all of my blog posts to Twitter in …
Read MoreThe Exact Wrong Way to Communicate with Prospective Gay Clients.
A quick note from Jenn – When my dear friend and colleague Diane reached out to me upset with what she had just read I was empathetic. However, rather than voice my thoughts on the matter I invited her to share her thoughts and opinion here on my blog. It …
Read MoreIs your target market ‘the ladies across the street?’
I grew up in a small town where diversity was scarce, really scarce. I’m not sure how or when being inclusive of everyone became such a part of who I was but I remember as early as 11 being inclusive regardless of race or religion specifically in my very non-diverse …
Read MoreHow dare you want to teach people to market to the gay community!?
Previously, I shared an email I received with you regarding a crank pot who didn’t really agree or understand what it is that I do. He was responding to a message I sent to him via LinkedIn. I know the response came from a straight man – and someone I …
Read MoreReally you don’t look gay – what’s the big deal?
Have you ever said “but you don’t look gay” to someone? Or has anyone ever said this to you? I write many of my blog posts to provide guidance on how to handle any situation thrown your way in a business setting. In this post we are going to talk about the …
Read MoreMarketing to the LGBT community is not for everyone
In this post I will elaborate on something I’ve touched upon in the past. Previously I wrote a blog post called “Dealing with opposition when preparing an LGBT outreach.” This post was in response to a reader question I received. In my response to him I stated “For anyone who is considering or …
Read More#72: How Does Confidence Impact Your LGBT Marketing Approach? [Podcast]
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/jenntgrace/episode_72_How-Does-Confidence-Impact-Your-LGBT-Marketing-Approach.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: RSS Today we are talking about how confidence impact your LGBT marketing approach. I’m bringing this question to you because I’ve had two conversations with prospective clients in the last couple of weeks, and both of them – with two very different businesses …
Read More#70: An Open Letter from a Self Admitted Homophobe [Podcast]
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/jenntgrace/Episode_70_An-open-letter-from-a-self-admitted-homophobe.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: RSS Thanks for listening to episode #70 of the podcast. Today’s episode of the podcast isn’t an interview, it’s a response to an email I received from a reader. It’s been a few months since I’ve spent a podcast just talking to you, …
Read MoreWelcome to the 7 Deadly Sins of Ineffective Communications
This series is what I call the 7 Deadly Sins of Ineffective LGBT Communications. During the time I have been writing this blog and during my many years in the field of LGBT marketing, I have noticed a pattern, 7 of them to be exact, that make up what I predict to …
Read More#68: Michele Wierzgac | Keynote speaker, leadership guru, and author of “The Talking Stick According To Michele: A Guide For Reflecting On Your Personal Brand” [Podcast]
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/jenntgrace/episode_68_michele_wierzgac.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: RSS Thanks for joining me for episode #68 of the podcast. My guest today is Michele Wierzgac, who I’m so glad shared her story with me and now you. Michele’s journey is an interesting one; from the volleyball court to the main stage …
Read MoreWhen to (or not to) use the word Queer? That is the question. [Podcast]
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/jenntgrace/episode-47-gay-business-and-marketing-made-easy-a-queer-question.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: RSS Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I’m pleased to share episode #47 of the podcast. In this episode I discuss what I am thankful for this year as well as tackling a listener question about the usage of the word Queer. It’s an interesting topic and one …
Read MoreHow to Reset your LGBT Customers Expectation of your Business
Every time I travel I witness something that sparks a new blog post. My trip to Kansas City to speak at the Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Equality Conference was no different. What an experience! I’ve heard that this chamber was doing some great things so it …
Read MoreDo your forms say ‘Mother’ & ‘Father’? If yes, change them!
Does your business have any kind of form(s) that you require your customers to fill out? Maybe your products or services serve both children and adults? Maybe you own a medical practice? Or the local martial arts studio? Regardless of what kind of business you own or where you work, …
Read MoreHow do I know what pronoun to use? Just ask!
I was meeting with a colleague and we were talking about a challenge her wife had just recently faced as it related to a new LGBT person working for her. Her wife recently hired a young woman who was very masculine in appearance – what you might call a ‘butch …
Read MoreCan you always keep track of your employees?
A couple of years ago in Portland, Oregon an LGBT customer received his receipt from the local Apple store with the email address input as “fag.com.” As a business owner, professional, someone with employees – what is your reaction to this? If you are marketing to the LGBT community I …
Read MoreWhat is so symbolic about the rainbow within the LGBT community?
During a meeting I was talking about pride parades and made a comment about rainbows. One of the people I was sitting with said “I had no idea rainbows are a sign of gay pride.” It never occurred to me that people wouldn’t know that rainbows were a symbol of lesbian, …
Read MoreThree (3) critical mistakes you don’t want to say in a crowd of LGBT people…
At this point you’ve heard me talk about my 2nd book (available on Amazon), “No, wait… You do look gay! The 7 Mistakes Preventing You from Selling to the LGBT Market.” During my book launch I had the wonderful opportunity to provide copies of the book to many loyal followers at the National Gay …
Read MoreDo you only work with gay people?
This post is about an interaction I had with my Mother over the holiday. I was at my Mom’s with my wife and kids to celebrate the holidays. She had asked me how my book was selling so I started telling her and gave her a promotional bookmark. She leans in towards me and whispers …
Read MoreIs it really ‘just a phase?’ 3 ways you are offending LGBT people and don’t even know it.
For new readers and repeat visitors, I write about business etiquette and the nuances of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. In this post I address the phrase, “It’s just a phase…” Most of what is written here is aimed to educate you on what not to say in a business …
Read MoreWhen is ok to “come out” to your doctor?
This blog stems from a question from a friend who is a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and has encountered a similar situation a couple of times when treating her lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) patients. To best understand the situation she provided me with a document from the Rhode Island Department …
Read MoreWhat’s the business impact of ridiculous proposed laws across America?
A few years back I was in a Facebook conversation with a friend about the ridiculous nature of Arizona’s Senate Bill 1062. I was so intrigued by her comments that I told her to head over to my Facebook page and post there so we could get the conversation going with other people …
Read MoreIs asking someone “So, what’s your disability?” similar to asking “So, are you a lesbian?”
For the few years I have written blog posts that are related to effective communications with the LGBT community (and it’s turned into so much more! I’m not sure all of you are aware that this blog actually started off called “LGBT Questions from a Friend,” and I was answering questions from friends and …
Read MoreHow do you recover from sticking your foot in your mouth?
I had the pleasure of previously speaking at the Travel Gay Canada conference in Niagara, Ontario. I had a great time presenting to a crowd of travel professionals who were eager to know how to communicate more effectively with their current and potential LGBT clients. Towards the tail end of …
Read MoreShould you ever say "those people" when talking about the LGBT community?
I’m a firm believer that the phrase “those people” should be banned from your vocabulary regardless of what group of people you are talking about. But since my blog is focused on the LGBT community we will talk about “those people” today. Did you see what I did there? All …
Read MoreHotel check-in: Will that be one bed or two, ladies?
Annually, I attend the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce conference. I write about it, talk about it on the podcast and meet many of you there. The conference never disappoints, in fact each year I’m not sure how they are going to top the previous year, but somehow …
Read MoreAre you "happy to deal with LGBT people?" Err, what?
By now you know that most of my blog posts comes directly from experiences in my day-to-day life. As a very out lesbian and owner of a business catering to education about the LGBT community, I have an endless supply of things to write about, which I am very grateful for. …
Read MoreWhat exactly is a sexual preference?
As with almost every post I write, this topic comes out of a direct conversation I had with an old friend and colleague. She has been a proud supporter of the LGBT community for many years and has been very active and successful in doing so. We were talking about equality …
Read MoreQueer: What does it mean?
This is a guest post written by Patrick Carland If you’ve been paying even a bit of attention to current LGBT politics, you may have seen the word “queer” thrown around more than once. And if you’re someone from my generation, IE born at any point before the ‘90s, you …
Read MoreAre you ‘Living the Gay Lifestyle?’
It seems like forever ago that I wrote a blog talking about the ‘Gay Lifestyle.’ In that post I boldly exclaimed ‘There is no such thing as a gay lifestyle!” I stand by that statement but feel the need to elaborate. There is no such thing as a gay lifestyle …
Read MoreWhere does being LGBT fall in your list of labels?
As I was finishing up my second book, “No, wait… You do look gay! The 7 Mistakes Preventing You from Selling to the LGBT Market” I was thinking a lot about what I had written in the book. The very first chapter dives into labels and where the obsession to label ourselves comes …
Read MoreWhat’s the difference between gender identity and gender expression
Comparing gender identity and gender expression is like… Comparing Granny Smith apples to Macintosh apples. They’re both fruits and part of the same family. In a previous post I talked about the differences between sexual orientation and gender identity. I made the comparison that they were like lemons and grapes. …
Read MoreWhat’s the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity?
Comparing sexual orientation to gender identity is like… Comparing lemons and grapes. They’re both fruit but they have little to do with one another. Awhile back I wrote a blog titled “If I’m not lesbianed, then you can’t be transgendered…” One of my main points of this post was the …
Read MoreMarketing to Lesbians – where are they?
Previously I wrote a rambling blog post titled, Deconstructing gaydar: Why do I know she’s a lesbian? I am really happy with the readership and comments spawned from this post. My intention was to create a dialogue around the mystique of gaydar but also point out that it does exist as …
Read MoreDeconstructing gaydar: Why do I know she’s a lesbian?
Often times in this blog I’ll address questions I’ve been asked by friends or colleagues. But in this post I’d like to attempt to answer my own question by brainstorming in writing with you. It may sound a bit crazy but I’ve been racking my brain for a while trying to …
Read MoreWhat’s wrong with the "Non-Traditional Family?"
Have you heard the phrase “Non-Traditional Family” when being marketed or sold to? Perhaps you have and haven’t noticed or perhaps you have and you cringe when you hear that phrase? Either way we are going to talk about the Non-Traditional Family today. This is an area of interest to …
Read MoreHave you been offended by being called a lesbian? Read this!
This post around business etiquette within the LGBT community comes from a direct experience I had not so long ago. I am going to start off with the moral of the story, then share the actual story. Moral: If you are offended that someone would assume that you were part …
Read MoreWhat is a Gayborhood?
I spent time in the gayborhood in Dallas, Texas. When I mentioned I was in the gayborhood it prompted a few people asking me what exactly that meant. Here is how Wikipedia defines a gay village; “A gay village (also known as a gay neighborhood, LGBT district, gay district, or …
Read More"So… which one of you is the man in the relationship?"
This blog post comes from a conversation I was having with a fellow lesbian. I was interviewing her for my 30 days – 30 voices – stories from America’s LGBT business leaders podcast project. I was telling her about my book called “But You Don’t Look Gay…”, and I was …
Read MoreAlly versus Advocate: What’s the difference?
In this post I would like to talk about the differences between an ally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and an advocate for the LGBT community. It hadn’t occurred to me that some may confuse the two until recently. I had a conversation recently and in it …
Read MoreWhat happens when you assume the gender of one’s spouse?
In the past, LGBT people were not at the forefront of society like we are today. It just wasn’t talked about. Now, LGBT rights and equality is something everyone is talking about. Democrats, Republicans and everyone in between is talking about it. Some in a positive way and others in …
Read MoreAre you saying "That’s so gay?" Stop.
There are always those expressions that can get under your skin. For me, one of those phrases is “That’s so gay.” It definitely seems to be more of a young adult and adolescent phrase but I’ve caught an adult or two or three saying it as well. I would equate …
Read MoreThe Damaging Effects of Negative Stereotypes
You may or may not recall a few year ago there was an article titled “Feds Spend $1.5 Million to Study Why Lesbians Are Fat.” It stated “The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $1.5 million to study biological and social factors for why “three-quarters” of lesbians are obese and …
Read MoreThere’s no such thing as the ‘gay lifestyle’
During a meeting the question “What is your knowledge and experience with the LGBT community?” came up. In the middle of this person’s response a reference to the ‘gay lifestyle’ was made. I had an immediate reaction. When I hear the term ‘lifestyle’ it sends a red flag that the …
Read MoreWhat is Cisgender?
I was in a meeting a while back reviewing candidates for a specific position we noticed that ‘cisgender’ was an option on the application form. I personally knew one of the applicants and hadn’t heard the term cisgender before so I was immediately thinking… I’ve never heard her describe herself …
Read MoreDon’t assume that because your co-worker is gay that they have ‘gaydar’
By now you may know that I pull the content I write about from recent interactions I’ve had. There never seems to be a shortage of information to write about in terms of educating people on how to do business with the LGBT community in a non-offensive way. This blog comes …
Read MoreHow can I help my co-worker "come out" at work?
I sat down for a cup of coffee this weekend with a friend and colleague. She recently went from being in business for herself to jumping back into the corporate world. Within just a couple of minutes she began to tell me about the person who is training her in …
Read MoreHow to Identify and Respond to "The Pronoun Game"
So what is the Pronoun Game? I was pleasantly surprised to see Wikipedia had a definition – “‘Playing the pronoun game’ is the act of concealing sexual orientation in conversation by not using a gender-specific pronoun for a partner or a lover, which would reveal the sexual orientation of the …
Read More#002: What Exactly is LGBT? Basic Terminology [Podcast]
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/jenntgrace/GBM_002_What_is_and_isnt_LGBT.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: RSS What exactly is LGBT? We’re talking the basics today on this episode of the Gay Business & Marketing Made Easy podcast! This podcast is dedicated to teaching you how to do business with and marketing to the LGBT community. There is no …
Read MoreIn a business setting: is it okay to ask intimate details?
The question I answer in this post comes from a lively discussion I was having with a handful of colleagues. As you may know by now I often take time in this blog to answer questions that some may find uncomfortable to ask for fear of being judged or afraid they …
Read MoreGay or LGBT… which do you use?
Back in 2012, when I met with my mastermind group to discuss the release of my podcast (a.k.a. an online radio show), the primary topic of discussion was around what should I name my show. Out of the 4 people in the group, 3 are allies and 1 is LGBT …
Read MoreIf I’m not lesbianed you can’t be transgendered…
This post stems from a recent conversation I was having where the person I was speaking with said the word transgendered then paused and said out loud “Is transgendered the right word?” Have you ever found yourself thinking about how a word sounds? Let’s use lesbian for example. The more you …
Read More"Pardon my ignorance but what is LGBT?"
This website came to be after I found myself answering LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) related questions from a variety of friends of mine. Since I consider myself a Professional Lesbian TM (educating people around LGBT topics is what I do every day) I’m often the first place friends come to …
Read MoreHow to assist a transgender job applicant
This question comes from a colleague who runs the full service staffing firm 925Hire. 925Hire is unique because they focus exclusively on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. An awesome niche to serve (I may be biased)! She saw this conundrum in a recent staffing magazine and wanted …
Read MoreDo we always have to be ‘role models’ for the community?
As an out and proud ‘professional lesbian’ (yes I do refer to myself as such when people ask what it is that I do), I find that I am often the voice of reason for setting examples in the LGBT community. I had an encounter in Chilli’s, a popular chain …
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